Adopt an Artifact! is a unique program offered by the St. Charles History Museum that allows people to “adopt” various artifacts from the Museum’s Collection. Artifacts may be adopted for up to a year and can be renewed.
After 1870, St. Charles was rejuvenated by railroad, new industry, and more emigration. The village of St. Charles was incorporated into a city in October of 1874 and J.K. Lewis was elected the first mayor. Improvements to provide valuable community services to the people of St. Charles included telephones by the 1880s, a library by 1889, a newspaper by 1881, a new high school (Haines) in 1898, gas mains by 1901, free mail delivery by 1904, city water mains by 1906, and city sewers in 1912.
St. Charles experienced a stunt in growth from about 1850 to 1870 due to several factors inside and outside of town. Natural disasters, such as floods and epidemics, the Civil War, and the loss of the railroad contributed to the lack of expansion.
Spiritualists, clairvoyants, or mediums were on the increase after the end of the Civil War due to the thousands of grieving survivors trying to connect with lost loved ones. It was so much accepted, that by the 1880s, the Universalist Church in St. Charles was converted into the hub of the Spiritualist movement in Northern Illinois.
African-American emigrants to St. Charles shared an abusive history of power struggles within the slave trade. Many of the people who fled from this persecution did so through the underground railroad. St. Charles played an important role in helping slaves to freedom. Known abolitionists such as James Wheeler, James Durant, and members of the Kane County Anti-Slavery Society fought for the rights of these oppressed people. Many fugitive slaves traveled through the Fox River Valley following the river north to freedom.
The first medical school in Illinois was the Franklin Medical School founded in 1842 in St. Charles. Dr. George Richards was director of the school located at the northeast corner of First Avenue and Main Street. The school was the cause of a 1849 riot in St. Charles, which today is known as the "Richards Riot."
Between 1840 and 1850, the downtown experienced a boom in settlement, development, and activity. Industries such as a paper mill, condensing mill, oil mill, and an iron foundry were founded. In addition, many brick homes were built in the towns historic districts of Century Corners and Old St. Charles.
According to the United States, the leaders of the Sac and Fox groups "signed" a treaty in 1804 which deeded the land west of the Fox River to the US. Black Hawk did not acknowledge this treaty because the negotiator, General William Henry Harrison, did not consult the entire council of Sac and Fox nations.
Many different groups migrated in and out of the Northern Illinois region from the time of Columbus (1492) to the white settlement of the Fox River valley (1833). Most of the groups were Algonquin-speaking people and included the Sauk, Fox, Illiniwek, Kickapoos, Miamis, Potawatomi, Menominee, and Winnebago.
*Special tours may be scheduled ahead of time for any day of the week, including Monday
Your City. Your History. Your Sense of Community.
The Museum welcomes participation in all activities by individuals with disabilities and special needs by working cooperatively with the Fox Valley Special Recreation Association. The Museum is committed to inclusion by providing public programs in the most integrated setting, providing to the maximum extent feasible for interaction between people with and without disabilities.If you or a household member has a special need or request for reasonable accommodation in accordance with the Americans With Disabilities Act, please contact us at least one week in advance of an activity, program, or visit date. For more details, call 630-584-6967.